“C4iSR: Joint & Common Equipment Analysis: Cameroon demonstrates joint op capabilityErwan de Cherisey, Paris - Jane's Defence Weekly 23 January 2018BIR soldiers are seen in northern Cameroon in 2015. The force's elite CAT led Operation 'Chacal' against separatists in the southwest of the country in December. (Erwan de Cherisey)AnalysisAn operation carried out by the Cameroonian military against separatists in the country’s South-West province in December 2017 demonstrated the extent to which it is now capable of carrying out complex joint missions.A Cameroonian Defence Force officer briefed Jane’s on Operation ‘Chacal’ ('Jackal'), which began on 5 December and lasted 10 days. It targeted three villages used by the Ambazonia Defence Force (ADF) as training and logistics bases and was led by personnel from the Rapid Intervention Battalions’ (BIR) elite Anti-Terrorist Centre (CAT).Reconnaissance flights were conducted with unmanned aerial vehicles belonging to the BIR’s Air Observation Group (GOA) and Mi-17 helicopters from the air force’s 13th Air Squadron to gather intelligence on the targets ahead of the offensive.”

http://www.defenceweb.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=50530:caravans-for-cameroon-and-chad-on-the-way&catid=35:Aerospace&Itemid=107The militaries of Chad and Cameroon will soon be introducing Cessna Grand Caravans into service after aircraft were delivered from the United States.

Two Grand Caravans in military camouflage were seen transiting Gran Canaria, Spain, on 12 January. Although they had their roundels partially taped over, it was possible to make out yellow and red markings indicating Cameroon’s Air Force is the recipient.

The temporary registration numbers (N339ZZ and N337ZZ) indicate the Cessna 208Bs were manufactured in 2016 and are owned by the United States Air Force. According to the US Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA’s) records, the aircraft were in late 2017 installed with temporary extended range fuel systems, presumably for their ferry flight to their destination.

On 30 November last year, two Grand Caravans were seen transiting Gran Canaria on their way to Africa. They (N329ZZ and N332ZZ) were in Chadian Air Force camouflage and were subsequently in January seen at an air base, most likely in Chad, where they were fitted with side-mounted L-3 Wescam MX-15 electro-optical surveillance turrets.

In May 2016 the US Air Force Life Cycle Management Centre awarded contracts for the modification of six Grand Caravans for Cameroon, Chad and the Philippines, with a further contract for the aircraft that September. Work was due to be completed by 30 September 2017.

L-3 Communications was contracted to configure the aircraft for the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) role – the aircraft are intended to combat terrorism. In addition to the MX-15 turrets on the Chadian aircraft, all four Grand Caravans seen in Gran Canaria feature bumps under the cockpits, indicating a surveillance package as they are different to the panniers often fitted to the type.

Chad’s Grand Caravans may already be in service - on 24 January the United States’ military’s Africa Command said the US Air Force had deployed a team to Chad’s capital N’Djamena, which was working to erect three Large Area Maintenance Shelters (LAMS) to house some of Chad’s aircraft, including Cessna 208Bs “which are scheduled to arrive soon”. The first shelter is 85% complete and the team is scheduled to complete all three shelters by mid-February, Africom said.

The United States has donated a number of Caravans to African countries in support of peacekeeping and counter-terror operations. The Niger Air Force received two Cessna 208Bs in July 2013, but configured for transport tasks. In June 2014 the US government donated two new Caravans to the Mauritania Islamic Air Force to boost its capacity to conduct patrols to counter maritime crimes and regional terrorist groups. Another recipient of Caravans from the United States is Uganda, which received two aircraft on 16 March 2015, to support the Ugandan contingent battling al Shabaab militants in Somalia.

The Cameroonian and Chadian Air Forces have each received two Cessna 208 aircraft modified for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions from the United States.Chad’s two new Cessna 208 ISR aircraft are seen at Adji Kossei Air Base, N’Djamena on 18 January. (US Air Force)A Cameroonian military officer confirmed to Jane’s that the 208s have arrived in Cameroon, while a spokesperson for US African Command (AFRICOM) said Chad’s two arrived in N’Djamena on 2 December 2017.The Cessnas were modified into ISR platforms under contracts that the US awarded to North American Surveillance Systems and L-3 Communications in May 2016. A US official confirmed the aircraft were donated to both countries.The AFRICOM spokesperson declined to provide any detail on the equipment fitted to the aircraft, saying only that they are “able to successfully conduct intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions”.”

http://www.defenceweb.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=51143:exercise-obangame-express-2018-begins&catid=108:maritime-security&Itemid=233“Exercise Obangame Express 2018 beginsMaritime forces from Gulf of Guinea nations, Europe, North and South America and several regional and international organizations began the multinational maritime exercise Obangame Express on 21 March.

Exercise Obangame Express 2018 (OE18), which is sponsored by U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), is designed to improve regional cooperation, maritime domain awareness (MDA), information-sharing practices, and tactical interdiction expertise to enhance the collective capabilities of Gulf of Guinea and West African nations to counter sea-based illicit activity, the US Navy said.

OE18, now in its eighth year, is one of three U.S. Naval Forces Europe- Africa-facilitated regional exercises. The exercise is part of a comprehensive strategy by CNE-CNA/C6F (Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa/U.S. 6th Fleet) and AFRICOM to provide collaborative opportunities amongst African forces and international partners that addresses maritime security concerns.

“It must be recognized that, in many respects, African states have taken the lead in pushing the importance of maritime security toward the top of the international agenda, forcing us to consider the ramifications of action, or inaction, in the maritime domain. African leadership in this area reflects a profound change both in how the world understands and defines security,” said U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Mark Camerer, director of logistics, U.S. Africa Command. “The maritime domain serves as the crossroad of national, regional and global interests. Be it security, economic or environmental interests, the maritime domain connects us all,” added Camerer.

The exercise will last eight days, with a two-phase underway portion that will encompass a regional framework and then transition to an emphasis on national patrols. Throughout, the maritime operations center (MOC) will exercise information sharing practices.

OE18 will be conducted in multiple areas at sea and ashore. At-sea operations will be conducted throughout the Gulf of Guinea. The largest footprint ashore for OE18 will be in Libreville, Gabon. Numerous MOCs will be participating from ashore across the Gulf of Guinea and West Africa along with several international organization MOCs.

“The exercise provides an excellent arena to show the necessity of interagency cooperation for governments to accomplish a larger mission,” said Randall Meridith, deputy chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Libreville, Gabon.

OE18’s Accra, Ghana, site kicked off with a tabletop exercise. A team comprised of U.S. Sailors and Marines worked together with Ghanaian officials on scenarios at the maritime operations center in Accra. This part of the exercise is designed to help build relationships between the many different agencies used to help secure the Gulf of Guinea.

“Our Navy and Marine Corps team is here executing a tabletop exercise (TTX) with various Ghanaian security services during exercise Obangame Express 2018. The TTX is designed to create an informal and friendly atmosphere. This environment fosters a rewarding experience with candid dialogue and open two-way communication. This TTX is part of a Marine Corps Forces Europe and Africa (MARFOREUR/AF) and Naval Forces Africa (NAVAF) initiative, Maritime Operations Center-Ground Force Integration (MOC-GFI). The MOC-GFI concept focuses on African partner defense forces and interagency communication and coordination procedures in response to threats that span across the land, sea, and air domains,” said Marine Master Sergeant Brian Ross, U.S. Marine Corps foreign area staff non-commissioned officer, Africa, for MARFOREUR/AF.

The U.S. will provide multiple training teams and controllers operating in African partner nations and aboard partner vessels.

The Blue Ridge-class command and control ship USS Mount Whitney (LCC 20), the command ship for U.S. 6th Fleet, will participate in the exercise and could be used for a wide variety of scenarios, to include at-sea ship boarding and queries, air operations, communication drills, and regional information sharing.

“Exercise Obangame Express 2018 is off to a good start,” said Royal Canadian Navy Cmdr. Peter Koch.

“Communications tools have been checked, command and working relationships established, tactics practiced, and ships and other assets fueled and stored. Everyone is as ready as possible for operations that will commence tomorrow,” added Koch.

http://www.defenceweb.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=51674:cameroon-officially-receives-cessna-208s&catid=35:Aerospace&Itemid=107“Cameroon officially receives Cessna 208sWritten by defenceWeb, Monday, 14 May 2018 The United States has officially handed over two Cessna 208 Caravan intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft to Cameroon’s Air Force to help it combat Boko Haram militants in the region.

The US Ambassador to Cameroon, Peter Henry Barlerin, on 11 May handed the aircraft over during a ceremony at Yaounde that was attended by Cameroon’s defence minister Joseph Beti Assomo, Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Rene Claude Meka and other dignitaries.

Barlerin said the Cameroon Cessna programme is worth 24 billion Central African Francs or $4.3 million. “That seems like a lot for two little planes, but it is much more than that. These surveillance aircraft represent a new link in the chain of our excellent cooperation, and have the potential to improve the safety and effectiveness of Cameroon's fighting forces.

“Flying day or night, throughout the Far North, they can provide real time information, through video and photograph, as well as through radio communications, to both national decision makers and to operational commanders.”

Barlerin said the United States has provided a complete package, which includes the training of pilots, equipment operators, and maintenance technicians as well as pare parts and on-the-ground technical support.

“This ceremony is one of many steps in a long process of training, equipment delivery, installation, and certification events, which will take place over the next several months. The United States looks forward to continuing to work with our Cameroonian partners to ensure that these aircraft are smoothly and safely absorbed into the Air Force inventory. They should contribute to ongoing combat operations in the Far North and help keep Cameroon safe. They should also contribute to Cameroon's ISR with Lake Chad Basin partners of the Multi-National Joint Task Force,” Barlerin said.

The aircraft are configured for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance and are fitted with cameras with a range of up to ten kilometres.

The delivery to Cameroon comes days after the United States officially handed over two new Cessna 208B Grand Caravans to Chad. These aircraft were transferred during a ceremony on 2 May at a base outside the Chadian capital N’Djamena.

The aircraft originally arrived in Chad on 2 December 2017 and were initially used for pilot training. Maintenance and logistics training continues. In January this year the US military said Chad’s Caravans are being used as intelligence surveillance reconnaissance platforms that will be used in the fight against terrorist organisations in the region.

Cameroon’s were delivered in January this year after air and ground crews underwent training on the Cessna 208 in the United States in 2017.

In May 2016 the US Air Force Life Cycle Management Centre awarded contracts for the modification of six Grand Caravans for Cameroon, Chad and the Philippines, with a further contract for the aircraft that September. The Philippines received its two aircraft in July 2017. »

BIR soldiers stand on the Cameroonian side of the trench near Amchide in April. Source: Erwan de Cherisey The Cameroonian Defence Forces are crediting the construction of a trench along the country’s border with Nigeria with significantly improving the security situation in the country’s Far North region.Work on the trench began in October 2016, when an experimental 20 km long section was dug between Guiwess and Tilde, a colonel in the Rapid Intervention Battalions (BIR) told Jane’s . With the soundness of the concept confirmed, a second 10 km section was dug in early 2017 before the rainy season stopped work.More extensive digging began when the dry season returned in September 2017 and the length of the trench increased to 120 km by late April, according to the BIR colonel. The plan is to eventually extend it further southwards to reach a length of 213 km. There is no need to extend it further north as the El Beid River, which runs along the border to Lake Chad, forms a natural barrier.Designed to prevent armed militants, especially ones from the Nigerian group known as Boko Haram, from infiltrating into Cameroon, the trench is more than 4 m wide and 3 m deep. It has been dug by a new BIR engineering unit that has been equipped with excavators, which is also tasked with repairing damage caused during the rainy season.The trench is patrolled by BIR detachments, troops from the Cameroonian army battalions serving under Cameroon’s Sector 1 of the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), and members of the Civilian Vigilance Committees.The single Cessna 208 surveillance aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) from the BIR’s Air Observation Group (GOA) carry out surveillance flights to monitor the trench and locate any attempts at crossing it.”

A BIR Fortress in Cameroon’s Far North Region in April. Source: Erwan de Cherisey The Cameroonian Rapid Intervention Battalions (BIR) are now fielding Mack Fortress armoured personnel carriers (APCs), Jane’s confirmed during a visit to the BIR base at Salak, the headquarters of Operation Alpha, the elite force’s deployment in the Far North Region.The vehicles were built by the French company ACMAT – which, like Mack, is a subsidiary of Arquus (formerly Renault Trucks Defense) – as part of an order announced in 2015 by the US Department of Defense (DoD) for 62 vehicles for Cameroon, Ethiopia, Somalia, Tunisia, and Uganda.The BIR received 15 Fortresses in late 2017 and deployed them to the Far North for operations against the militant group known as Boko Haram, a BIR officer told Jane’s . The vehicles are known as Cyclones in BIR service.The Fortress was formerly branded as the Bastion HM and is a development of the ACMAT Bastion APC. At 14.5 tonnes it is heavier than the 12-tonne Bastion and has a more powerful 340 hp engine and independent suspension.The Cameroonian vehicles have add-on armour mounted on both sides of the hull and heavier bullet-resistant windows.Few details were provided about the vehicle’s performance, but the BIR officer noted that the Fortress has good mobility, especially when compared with the heavier General Dynamics Peace Keeping Security Vehicle (PKSV) that the BIR also uses.BIR personnel praised the exceptional robustness and very high resistance to mines and improvised explosive devices of the PKSVs that were donated by the United States in 2015 and 2016.The BIR also received two Oshkosh FMTV A1P2 6x6 trucks from the United States in April, the BIR officer said. The FMTVs are equipped with an LTAS B-Kit armoured cab and are being used for logistics.”

http://www.defenceweb.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=52447:china-cameroon-signs-military-assistance-agreement&catid=56:diplomacy-a-peace&Itemid=111“China, Cameroon signs military assistance agreementWritten by defenceWeb, Thursday, 19 July 2018 China and Cameroon have signed a military assistance agreement that includes China providing $8 million for the acquisition of military equipment.

Cameroon’s Ministry of Defence on 18 July said the Chinese Ambassador to Cameroon, Wang Yingwu on behalf of the Chinese government and Cameroon’s Minister of Defence Beti Assomo Joseph signed an agreement on military assistance in the Hall of Acts of the ministry of defence.

“Bilateral military cooperation is being reinforced once more between the government of Cameroon and the People’s Republic of China as the Chinese Ambassador to Cameroon Wang Yingwu and the Minister Delegate at the Presidency in Charge of Defence signed a convention worth 4.5 billion francs CFA [$7.9 million] to assist the Cameroon defence forces acquire some military equipment,” the Ministry said.

It added that the objective of the agreement is to promoting peace and security in Cameroon particularly as the country is facing numerous threats as emphasized by Yingwu.

“It should be recalled that this is the 5th time the People’s Republic of China is exhibiting a benevolent gesture to the Cameroon Defence Forces. This convention merely comes to reaffirm the fruitful bilateral military cooperation existing between Beijing and Yaounde not only security wise but in diverse domains,” the Ministry said.

Other arms suppliers to Cameroon include the United States, South Africa, Spain, Serbia, Russia, Israel and France, which have supplied armoured vehicles, transport and combat helicopters, mortars, unmanned aerial vehicles and light and transport aircraft.”